Expatriates have increased their share of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population to close to 90% in the past three years, even as the domestic population grew sharply and an economic downturn slowed the increase in foreigners to nearly nil, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show.
The proportion of non-nationals stood at 88.5% of the UAE’s combined estimated population of 8.26 million as of the middle of 2010, the bureau reported over the weekend. That was down slightly from a peak of 88.8% in 2008 but up from 83% as recently as 2006, the figures showed.
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Experts have warned that Gulf countries are risking severe social dislocations from an over-reliance on foreigners for labor. Policy makers aren’t doing enough to ensure that the skills and knowledge foreigners bring with them are transferred to locals to create employment and ensure domestic values and cultures aren’t swamped by a preponderance of outsiders.
“Are we more concerned about national identity and social stability than economic growth, or double-digit economic growth?” Khalid Al Yahya, director of governance and public administration at the Dubai School of Government, told The Media Line. “We need to make tough choices.”
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=31808 [3]